Alptraum
by allihavetodoisfall
Summary: Sometime in the future, the remnants of the Five recount one of their darkest hours. Spoilers for Awakening and Normandy. No specific pairings.
1. Nikola's First Rendition

Notes: so I have 30 pages and about 10,000 words of various unpublished Sanctuary fics. That number is growing. This is just one of them.

For readers: 'Normandy' simply inspired me to write this. This is in the sometime future, post-Awakening, with Druitt cured of the energy creature. I will write no more. But enjoy, and don't forget to review! (Please?)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sanctuary.

Summary: Sometime in the future, the remnants of the Five recount one of their darkest hours.

* * *

><p>London, 1888<p>

The early morning sunlight filtered in through thin white curtains, highlighting a very messy room. Papers, spare electrical parts and a shattered bottle of wine littered the floor and bookshelves. Lying on the floor, was a man. A very angry man.

Blood pooled out from under his hands, coagulating into a puddle on the floor. His eyelids fluttered; he was fighting sleep, and had been for the past day. He could hear his vertebrae (or he thought so) reattaching themselves. Maybe in a few hours he would be able to move.

He was going to _kill _John. Very slowly. John would be begging for mercy, if that broken arm had been any foreshadowing of what exactly he would do the man. Whoever had put a bullet into him had Nikola's eternal gratitude.

A pounding on the bolted door momentarily jolted Nikola out of his murderous thoughts. Then the doorknob was tried, but John had locked the door. Nikola would have started yelling, but as his throat had just finished repairing itself, he could barely manage a whisper.

"Nikola! Open the bloody door!"

Despite the situation, he chuckled silently. Oh, the great Helen Magnus, stopped by a door. And judging from what he could hear, so was the esteemed James Watson. That being said, he did need some help.

"Nikola, I swear, if you don't open the door in one bloody minute I'm calling your landlord!"

"Helen," Nikola heard Watson say "If John's gotten to him as well, I highly doubt he's in any state to answer the door."

The door was hit (kicked?) again.

"The tenant downstairs said there was a ruckus last night."

Nikola heard a sharp intake of breath. Their conversation moved to whispers, of which Nikola only heard 'gun' and 'shoot'.

"Nikola," Helen said finally "if you're able, move away from the door."

"Just wonderful." The vampire whispered to himself.

He heard a dull thud and the door burst open, revealing (was he ever wrong?) Helen Magnus and James Watson. Both their eyes widened until they were nearly the size of saucers.

* * *

><p><p>

"They were not!"

"Yes they were," Nikola argued. "I was there. I saw it."

"Nikola." Helen said, leaning forward. "You were in a great amount of pain, delirious and had not slept for a few days. They were _not._"

Across from them, Will, Kate and Henry shifted uncomfortably, as if unsure whether to laugh or walk away. John rolled his eyes at all of them.

"Can we continue?" Kate asked finally, after a moment of intense discomfort.

"Yes," John said with a hint of his former menace. "I'd like to get to my part, please."

Nikola gave him a patronizing smile that only revealed part of his fangs.

"Fine. Helen, I believe it's your turn."

-Did you like it? The next part should be up tomorrow. Please review!


	2. Helen's First Rendition

Notes: Thank you awesome reviewers! Here's part two.

* * *

><p>Helen could barely stifle a gasp as she saw Nikola lying on the ground with what looked like a good sized hole through his abdomen, never mind the various lacerations that covered his body, completely ruining his suit. <em>That <em>was what he would be angry about.

She and James knelt by his side.

"Can you speak?" she asked, noting the new scar tissue on his neck.

"No." he whispered. His eyes briefly crossed and then closed.

Helen shook Nikola's shoulder. "Stay with us, Nikola."

He groaned and tried to roll over.

"Helen, help me get him into bed."

She nodded and grabbed his arms, and James took hold of his legs. Together, they managed to dump him unceremoniously onto his bed, ignoring what would have been a shout of pain. His back was probably broken, too.

"He's doing most of the job himself," James noted as Helen sat on the bed. "I don't think there's much we can do."

"We can't just leave him here. We both know John was trying to kill him."

"He tried to kill Nigel as well."

"I highly doubt it. Nigel has a bruised rib and a few scratches."

"Helen, he threw Nigel out of a window."

"Nigel?" Nikola whispered.

Helen met his eyes. "Earlier this morning, Nigel and John had a bit of an entanglement. We suspect he wasn't able to kill him because of previously sustained wounds."

"Did you shoot him?" James asked. Nikola shook his head and winced.

"I did." Helen said finally. "I fear I may have started all of this. I found him about to kill a prostitute last night."

James swore and slammed his hand down on the most convenient surface. Which happened to be Nikola's chest. The vampire flinched and glared at both of them.

"_He's _Jack the Ripper?" James bellowed. Helen nodded sadly.

"I should have known. What prevented me from _seeing_?" he shouted.

"James, there's no way you could have known." Helen said calmly. "He fooled all of us."

"You know he shouldn't have." James stood. "Stay with Tesla, Helen." He stormed out the door.

Helen began to stand, but Nikola grabbed her hand with surprising strength and pulled her down. He shook his head.

"What if John kills him?" she nearly shouted. Nikola shook his head again.

"One good arm." He mumbled.

And James had a gun, Helen reasoned. Some part of her mind wondered where James thought he was going. Another wondered why Nikola hadn't let go of her hand yet. Delicately, she pulled her hand away from his.

"You should get some rest." Helen said, but Nikola's eyes were already closed. Helen sighed. What was she going to do now?

* * *

><p>"Wait," Kate said when Magnus was taking a breath. "How are we going to find out what Watson did? I mean, he's dead."<p>

"James was never specific on the details after he stormed out of Tesla's room," Magnus said, "But he did tell me he went to the gentlemen's club you two used to frequent."

John shrugged. "I had gone back to my flat to do something about my gunshot wound and broken arm. He found me around midday…"

-Hope you enjoyed. Please review.


	3. John's First Rendition

Notes: Writing this in Druitt's perspective was a very enlightening experience, which certainly is helping me with this fic.

* * *

><p>John winced and bit back a curse as he wrapped the bandage around his shoulder.<p>

He glanced out the window just to see James running into the building. If John had been a different person, with a different power, he might have panicked, because that item in James's hand looked a lot like a gun.

Instead, John finished tying the bandage. By the time James arrived, he was gone, into the flat across the hall.

John heard his former friend kick down the door, cursing the entire time. James certainly got into his rages, but John would get no sympathy from anyone if he told them that.

"John! I know you can hear me!"

Yes, John thought. I can hear you. As can everyone else in this blasted building. Still, whatever had possessed him couldn't resist. Was the man high? _Again_?

"Of course I can hear you, old friend." He taunted.

That made James even madder, John noted with distinct pleasure.

"Well come out then! And we'll settle this!"

In a flash, John was directly behind James. The other man turned and pointed the gun.

"I swear, by everything that's holy John, I will-"

"Kill me?" John chuckled. "As the rest of our merry group can attest, it's rather hard to kill me."

James was actually crying now.

"Why did you do it?" he screamed. The gun did not waver.

"My actions are not my own." John said simply.

James snorted. "I bet that's _exactly _what the both of you were thinking when she told you she was _pregnant_!"

_That _did surprise him. "Helen is pregnant?"

Watson's eyes widened, as he realized John did not know.

"She never told you?"

The familiar rage began to burn hot within him. John had thought it was under control. Hadn't it killed enough last night? Nikola was dead, Nigel…well being tossed out of his flat shouldn't be doing wonders for _his _health.

Must fight it, John thought wildly. Can't kill James as well. He gritted his teeth and promised his demon he would kill extra tonight. It quieted, but John knew better.

He was going to be a father. The thought hit him like a jet of extremely cold water, and he had to steady himself.

"No. She didn't."

John found the gun pressed against his chest. He met James' eyes, and realized there might be something truly wrong with the man.

"It doesn't bloody matter! I'm going to kill you!"

John sighed. "I've already played this out with Helen, and don't wish to do it again."

John heard the click of the trigger an instant before he was enveloped in a flash of light.

-Please Review


	4. Helen's Second Rendition

Notes: This chapter is a bit of a take on Helen and James' relationship in 'Normandy' and how it _might _have begun to develop, or at least…oh never mind.

* * *

><p>"Then what happened?" Henry asked. He was getting caught up in the story. This was just like a comic book. Only much, much better.<p>

"Patience, Heinrich." Nikola snapped. "Nothing happened for a month or so. John was missing, Nigel and I were healing and James was using extreme amounts of cocaine, and was no help to any of us."

"And Magnus?" the doctor in question had left the room for a moment.

"I was very busy with morning sickness." She said from the doorway, carrying a tray of food. "If we're going to keep telling this story until it finishes, we might be here for a while."

She sat down again, between John and Nikola.

"We managed to get everyone else to my father's home. He was on a business trip to attempt to gain funds for the UK Sanctuary that he would build a few years later."

* * *

><p>Helen's nausea had stopped long enough for her to get outside and take a short walk. She wasn't particularly worried about John showing up and trying to kill her. Somehow she knew he didn't want to hurt her. The rest of the Five were simply another matter.<p>

Even if he did show, the contents of her purse weren't simply a woman's personal items.

Her stomach turned as she caught the smell of fresh meat from the butcher's shop. Every scent seemed too amplified, too clear in her brain. She quickly turned from the marketplace and headed back to her house, only to find Nikola perched on the roof, back to her.

"What are you doing up there?" she shouted at him.

Nikola glanced at her but turned his head back to something she couldn't see.

"Nikola!" He turned around.

"Yes?"

Helen repeated the question, coupled with why he wouldn't go inside.

"When you kick that cocaine-addled man out of your home I will!" he shouted.

Helen sighed. James had been taking in so much cocaine (at least she _thought _it was cocaine) lately, he wasn't any help at all, what with his mood swinging between high and low depending on the hour.

"Where's Nigel?" she called. From the other side of the rooftop, Nigel peeked out and waved.

"Nigel! How did you get up there?"

"It was my idea." The Invisible Man said simply.

"Get down from there! Both of you!" she shouted, and began feeling nauseous again. "I'll talk to James."

Inside she could smell the bitter odor of something burning.

"James?"

"In here."

Helen opened the door to his room to find a morose James Watson nursing a bottle of brandy. He looked ready to cry. She sat across from him.

Helen's sympathy for the man grew. Here he was, the analytical genius who had discussed police reports with the murderer, who was best friends with the murderer. And here she was, ex-fiancée to John.

"I suppose it's too much to ask that you stop your drug abuse?" she asked rhetorically.

James nodded. "I am blind Helen. For all I could see, I was blind to what mattered most. To all of us."

Helen sighed and grasped the man's hand. James looked at their hands as if they were foreign objects.

"We were both blind. _All _of us were blind. Even Nikola couldn't pick up a whiff of blood on him."

James avoided her eyes and stared out the window. "What have we unleashed?" he asked.

Helen could only shake her head. This had gone completely wrong.

"We have to deal with it somehow. The four of us can-"

"Can what Helen?" James abruptly stood up. "Lurk in the alleys until he decides to slice us up? Hide here until he finds out Nigel and Tesla are alive and come back to finish the job?"

Helen stood and pushed her chair in roughly.

"James, I have no idea what to do! I came to tell you to stop this ridiculous display of yours and _help us _decide what to do!" she shouted, aware that Nikola and even Nigel could hear her.

Helen walked forward until she was half an inch from James' face.

"We need to do something about him! I can't do it without you!"

Perhaps it was an accident, perhaps not. Helen, in the years to come decided the bottle of brandy had contributed to what would follow.

James leaned forward and kissed her. He did taste like brandy. Helen recoiled instinctively as James realized what he had done.

"I'm so sorry!" he had started shouting again.

She could only stare at him. The door opened—

* * *

><p>-Dun dun dun! Cliffhanger! Please review.<p> 


End file.
